Education Policy

Requires schools to implement comprehensive safety plans addressing child abuse and sex offense prevention by July 2026. Establishes a statewide database to track misconduct by school employees and prevent rehiring of offenders. Mandates annual safety training for all school staff and volunteers who interact with students. Requires schools to provide students with annual in-person instruction on abuse prevention starting July 2027.

Expands career technical education programs by requiring updated industry standards and apprenticeship opportunities. Mandates schools to offer work-based learning programs with credit for students starting in grade 10. Establishes a state framework for youth apprenticeships that combine classroom instruction with paid work experience. Creates an interagency workgroup to develop guidelines and standards for career education programs by 2026.

Expands California school assessment options to include Cambridge International examinations for evaluating student growth. Requires school counselors to promote Cambridge International programs alongside AP and IB options. Establishes formal recognition of Cambridge International programs within California's education system. Enables students who complete Cambridge programs to earn advanced placement credits at universities.

Establishes penalties up to $1 million for social media platforms that violate personal rights through content or algorithms. Imposes double penalties when platforms knowingly harm minors through content distribution. Applies only to social media platforms earning over $100 million in annual revenue. Holds platforms directly responsible for how their algorithms distribute harmful content to users.

Establishes a comprehensive one-year civics curriculum covering federal, state, and local government fundamentals. Requires the State Department of Education to partner with county education offices to develop the curriculum guide. Creates a pathway for students to earn the State Seal of Civic Engagement through course completion. Includes detailed instruction on voting rights, registration methods, and civic participation processes.

Allows middle and high school students one excused absence per year for career technical education activities. Requires students to notify schools in advance of career technical education absences. Permits school administrators to approve additional career technical education absences beyond the annual limit. Mandates students complete all missed assignments and tests to receive full credit.

Requires auditors of school districts to complete 24 hours of education in school-specific auditing by 2026. Mandates quality control reviews of charter school auditors every three years to ensure compliance. Establishes stricter peer review requirements for firms conducting school financial audits. Authorizes suspension of auditors who fail to meet professional standards for up to three years.

Modifies charter school renewal standards to require evidence of academic improvement or strong college outcomes. Requires use of verified data for evaluating low-performing charter schools until new growth models are ready. Authorizes two-year renewals for struggling schools and five-year terms for higher-performing charters. Mandates state reimbursement to local agencies for costs of implementing these new requirements.

Requires California high schools to adopt new ethnic studies standards and curriculum by January 2028. Mandates that ethnic studies courses be free from bias and appropriate for students of all backgrounds. Establishes an expert advisory committee to guide development of ethnic studies content and materials. Requires schools to submit their ethnic studies curricula for state review by June 2026.

Extends Paradise Unified School District's exemption from administrative staffing penalties through 2027. Requires Paradise Unified to submit a detailed staffing ratio report by September 2026. Provides immediate relief to help the district recover from the Camp Fire's impact.

Requires landlords to let tenants opt out of bundled internet service provider subscriptions starting January 2026. Allows tenants to deduct internet subscription costs from rent if landlords fail to provide an opt-out option. Protects tenants from retaliation for declining bundled internet services. Permits landlords to continue offering bulk-billing arrangements for internet services.

Requires schools to process special education plans within 30 days for transfer students. Mandates schools to accept unofficial records from military families during student transfers. Expands residency rights for military families with special education students. Requires electronic enrollment systems for military families transferring to California schools.

Expands parental access rights to include both official and unofficial school records of their children. Maintains existing protections that prevent access when prohibited by court orders. Preserves parents' rights to question and receive responses about inaccurate information in records.

Establishes new state funding for transitional kindergarten programs in basic aid school districts starting 2025-26. Requires additional funding for necessary small schools to maintain transitional kindergarten programs. Mandates annual General Fund appropriations to support transitional kindergarten in qualifying schools. Ensures basic aid districts receive supplemental grants without reducing other educational programs.

Establishes a zero-interest loan program to help schools develop workforce housing for educators. Provides loans ranging from $150,000 to $200,000 based on school district size. Requires loan repayment over 5 years through automatic deductions from school funding. Creates a backup security fund to protect against loan defaults.

Expands student rights to wear cultural and religious adornments at graduation ceremonies and related school events. Prohibits schools from requiring pre-approval for wearing cultural or religious adornments. Allows students to replace graduation caps with cultural or religious adornments. Empowers students and families to determine what qualifies as cultural or religious adornments.

Establishes new criteria for reclassifying English learner students as English proficient starting July 2026. Requires English learners to achieve a score of 3H or higher on the state English proficiency test for reclassification. Maintains requirements for teacher evaluation, parent input, and basic skills assessment in reclassification decisions.

Protects school funding when immigration enforcement activities cause student attendance drops through 2029. Requires schools to offer independent study programs to maintain funding eligibility during attendance decreases. Exempts documentation about immigration-related attendance drops from public records disclosure. Mandates state verification of school compliance with independent study requirements starting 2026.

Requires schools serving grades 5-12 to create annual climate reports starting in the 2026-27 school year. Mandates schools to develop improvement plans when climate deficiencies are identified. Requires schools to present climate reports at public board meetings and post them online within 30 days.

Authorizes school districts to offer teacher certification programs for English learner and bilingual education. Requires district-run teacher programs to meet the same standards as university-based programs. Expands pathways for teachers to earn English learner and bilingual teaching credentials.

Establishes a system for schools to convert their property into housing projects by January 2027. Creates an online portal for schools to register interest in developing housing on their land. Provides technical assistance to schools for housing development through experts and consultants. Prioritizes support for schools in areas with high housing costs or teacher shortages.

Requires evaluation of teaching resources for newcomer students during adoption of K-8 English language materials. Expands eligible organizations that can operate migrant education programs to include school districts. Takes effect immediately to align with upcoming instructional materials adoption.

Requires school districts to pay classified employees their regular rate for all mandatory training time. Mandates in-person training for topics like sexual harassment and child abuse reporting. Ensures contracted workers receive equivalent health and retirement benefits as direct employees. Requires real-time question-and-answer sessions during all employee training programs.

Establishes a Pay-It-Forward program allowing UC and CSU students to attend college without paying upfront costs. Requires graduates to repay a percentage of their income instead of taking traditional student loans. Creates a dedicated fund from graduate repayments to support future students' education costs. Mandates UC and CSU campuses to enroll at least 10,000 students in the program by 2030.

Establishes a statewide database to track misconduct investigations of non-teaching school staff by July 2027. Requires applicants for non-teaching school positions to disclose all previous education employment history. Mandates schools to report staff misconduct investigations within 10 days of starting or completing an inquiry. Requires schools to check the database for misconduct history before hiring non-teaching staff.